Jalen Brunson didn’t need the All-Star calls to show why he’s an All-Star.
His eye red and swollen from getting hammered in the face and his frustration with the officiating on overload, Brunson nailed the go-ahead bucket with 1:46 left to highlight a 109-105 thrilling victory Thursday night over the Pacers.
The key sequence — which encapsulated the entire evening — was Brunson getting hit in the eye by Indiana’s Andrew Nembhard with a little over two minutes left.
The contact was inadvertent but obvious, and Brunson — who was in the middle of a cross over — immediately crumbled to the court and dropped the ball.
Indiana’s Jalen Smith picked it up for an easy layup to give the Pacers a one-point lead.
Brunson, who had been battling with the officials all night, took his frustration out on the Pacers’ defense, converting an and-1 drive on the ensuing play to ignite the sold-out crowd.
It started a 7-0 run that buried Indiana.
The Knicks point guard put on another wonderful show at Madison Square Garden, dragging and willing the shorthanded home team while dropping a 40-piece in 37 minutes on 15 of 30 shooting.
Without four injured rotation players — including fellow All-Star Julius Randle — Brunson dropped led the fourth-quarter surge, with the Knicks winning the most important minutes.
